Many things contribute to a successful Unified Communications deployment. Engaging end users and business leaders up front in the planning process is important. So is following through with these same people post-deployment, to ensure users know how to use and maximize the solution. Considering the dynamics between legacy and new equipment is yet another element. 

When it comes to UC, however, it is easy to forget that it is the network that makes it all possible. More...

Before you can make an informed decision about return on investment (ROI) for a Unified Communications implementation, it is essential to know the scope of that investment. Obviously, it is more than just the up-front cost of the equipment you buy for a premises-based solution, or the ongoing cost of a hosted solution. More...

We told you back in January it was coming, and we are pleased to report that Sprint Complete Collaboration is here and immediately available. Our hosted and fully managed Unified Communications solution is now ready to deliver the seamless collaboration that can enhance the agility and boost the productivity of large and mid-sized enterprises. More...

I feel UC technology will be crossing a threshold of intuition in 2012. Tablet computers, spacious touch-screen smartphones and deskphones with dynamic color displays will help users understand how to use their new technology on a just-in-time basis. Given how busy everyone is today, technology will fail if everyone has to read a user’s manual just to use the basic features of a virtual phone—no matter how integrated and functional the phone may actually be for a well-trained user. More...

As enterprises consider outsourcing some segments of their networks and applications, they look to hosted services. Or do they look to managed services? It isn’t always immediately clear what is “hosted” and what is “managed.” Especially since there is some overlap between the two in the ways enterprises purchase and use these services. More...

The term “mission critical” was designed with companies like Energia Logistics Ltd. and the Sea Launch program in mind. The international company provides launch services to commercial satellite operators around the world, among them DirecTV, Dish Network, XM Satellite Radio, and Intelsat. It depends on Sprint Managed Solutions to handle the all-important network communications and security surrounding each launch and the months and years of preparations that go into it. More...

The distinction between hosted and managed services is a persistent question, and one that the recent Sprint-Nemertes Research webinar, “The Bona Fide Value in Managed Services” answered quite well.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend the webinar, you can still catch the archived version here. This webinar offered insight from several different angles on the managed services question, with the objective, industry-wide viewpoint of Johna Johnson of Nemertes Research, the user viewpoint of Joseph Carpico of Energia Logistics, and the Sprint view from our own Mike Cole. More...

More and more IT organizations are embracing the managed services alternative, and if you are wondering why, there’s an excellent chance to find out on Thursday, December 1. That’s when a webinar will look at the business case for managed services and hear from a company that’s enthused about using them. More...

It’s been said that technology changes at the speed of light. Take cloud computing, for example. Gartner just released its Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2012 report, and the cloud moved from the No. 1 spot to the No. 10 spot over the course of this year. More...

Both, most likely. We hear these terms used so frequently and interchangeably that they seem to be the same, indistinguishable service. While they may be complementary, they are distinctly different. 

Cloud computing, at its simplest, may be defined as an architecture that allows a user to access an application, software,or data using the Internet. Google Apps is a great example of cloud computing for business productivity such as email, word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets.  Salesforce.com is another example of cloud computing where the application sits in the cloud, and the enterprise is not responsible for any hardware or software. In fact, companies pay for only the service they need, and the service can be scaled up or down on demand. More...